The Legend of Spyro: The Age of Reckoning Book 1
by Vasadendric
Summary: In the olden days, Ignitus, Cyril, Volteer and Terrador sought to become the guardians of their people. Such responsibilities are not given, they are earned. Follow the story of a younger Ignitus and company on their journey to become the guardians that went on to mentor the purple dragon of legend.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 **Arrival**

Ignitus took in a deep breath of the fresh springtime air. The afternoon sunlight flickered through the leaves of the trees and made his bright red scales shimmer and reflect off the forest floor. Now where was that clearing again?

The young fire-drake craned his neck from left to right. He'd been searching for his favorite spot all afternoon. He didn't want to find it by flying. That would be cheating! He squinted, trying to remember which way he walked four days ago. Movement caught his eye and he turned to watch a red butterfly with yellow and blue spots flutter out of the trees. It circled him and then landed right on his snout.

"Why hello there" the dragon chuckled, while flaring his nostrils to avoid sneezing. The little butterfly flapped its wings back and forth slowly and twisted it's antennae as if it were trying to figure out what kind of creature it'd landed on.

` "It's a lovely place isn't it? Do you live around here?" Ignitus asked while slightly tilting his head.

When the butterfly didn't respond, Ignitus continued, "I don't, I live in a cave with my mom and dad. It's alright, but not nearly as cool as it is out here in the forest. You're so lucky that you get to live here, wish I could . . . do you have any friends out here?" He cocked his head just a little bit further, but it was enough to make the butterfly flutter off of his nose, making Ignitus sneeze.

"Wait! Come back! It's okay! I'm not gonna hurt you! I just wanna talk!" Ignitus laughed then bounded after it through the forest. He jumped up, trying to tap it with his snout. Every time he was about to touch it, the little multicolored bug would flutter out of the way or off in another direction.

"Hey, stop dodging! It's not fair!" the red dragon protested. They turned left, right, left again backwards and Ignitus was so close and right as he hopped out into a small clearing he lost track of the butterfly.

"Hey? Where'd you go? Hello?" he asked while hastily craning his neck in multiple directions looking for his new multicolored friend. He hadn't even noticed that he ended up in the clearing he'd been looking for all along. He was so focused on finding the butterfly he didn't notice the rumbling off to his right flank.

Before Ignitus had time to see where the noise was coming from, a dark green blur rammed into his flank, sending him summersaulting through the air.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He cried, slamming into a pine tree and breaking it in half on impact. He rolled down the trunk until he hit the grassy floor on his stomach. _What in the-!_ He thought, _what hit me?_

"Ram! You're it!" a voice boomed from the opposite end of the clearing ... "Come on Shukka! I didn't hit you that hard, did I?"

The dust cleared and when the young dark green whelp saw who he'd really hit, he cringed. "oooooooooh crap, that's not Shukka." he realized while rushing over. Any regular earth dragon would've definitely survived that charge, but a fire dragon? He wasn't so sure.

"Hey" He rumbled. "You alright? Better yet, you alive?" A painful moan from behind the dust told him that he was still very much alive.

Once Ignitus's vision finally stopped spinning and the dust cleared, he was able to see young bulky dark green dragon standing before him. He had jagged rocks growing out of his shoulder-blades, and two massive brown horns that looked like they hadn't finished growing yet and a large rock mass grown into his tail.

"What was that for?" Ignitus asked in a daze.

"My bad man, I thought you were someone else" he apologized while rushing over and helping the debris-covered fire breather to his feet.

"wh-what?

"I'm playin a game with my buddy Shukka, thought you were him!"

Ignitus gave him a frown. "Ah yes, nothing like a good old game of "Smash the Trees!"" he snapped.

"Ha, sounds like somebody hasn't played Ram before."

"Come again?"

"You heard me." he rebutted while bringing the fire-drake over into the clearing. "Ever hear of Tag?" the green dragon asked while brushing the dirt off of his new acquaintance. Ignitus held up a paw to indicate he wanted him to stop, and then proceeded to dust himself off.

"Yeah, of course." He extended his wings and flapped them a few times to shake off the dirt. The green dragon draped a wing in front of himself to shield his eyes from the clouds of dust.

"Well. I guess you can say it's like extreme tag. In Ram, you have to run smack into the person you're trying to tag and send them flying, otherwise, it doesn't count!"

"That sounds … unsafe." Ignitus chuckled while glancing back and smirking at the broken tree. The young green dragon looked at him with a humorous smile.

"Hey, the way I look at it, it's a great motivator to not get hit! Well, now that we've met on such great terms…" The strange dragon stuck out his right paw. "Names Terrador." Though his face didn't show it, Ignitus was instantly confused. His parents had taught him to bow at the neck whenever formalities were involved, what was this barbarian doing?

"umm" he murmured, while pointing "what d-"

"You're supposed to take the paw dummy." The dark green drake chuckled with a silly smirk. Not wanting to be rude, Ignitus hesitantly lifted his paw and smacked it down flat to flat.

"I'm Ignitus- good to mAAOWW, OWW OWW!" Terrador gripped the paw tightly and shook it hard. Ignitus winced! Such brute strength! It felt like he was crushing his paw!

"Ignitus huh? It's a pleasure." When Terrador finally let go Ignitus rubbed his paw to get rid of the pain.

"That's quite a grip you got there"

"Yeah, I've got my dad's brute strength, that's what he always tells me. So, what were you doing out here anyway Ignitus?" Terrador asked while looking him over. Ignitus thought about it for a second and decided there was no way in hell he was going to tell him he'd been chasing a butterfly through the forest. So he left that part out.

"I was umm, just out and about, you know? Since it's such a nice day I thought I would take a walk. Stretch my wings, you know how it goes."

". . . Sounds boring." He stated. Ignitus smirked while chuckling

"Well I suppose it can't really compare to the excitement of thrashing your friends about!" Terrador grinned while shaking his head.

"Nope, you sure are right about that part, nothing else compares."

They laughed for a minute, then Ignitus stood up on all fours and flicked his head towards the forest

"c'mon, why don't you follow me for a bit? I could use some company."

"You mean, just _walk_?" Terrador asked while cringing slightly from how dull it sounded.

"Yeah, it's not as boring as you may think."

"Ah, why the hell not?" with that said, Terrador got up off his haunches and walked shoulder to shoulder with his new friend. They walked for about five minutes and hadn't even noticed the other earth dragon stalking along close by in the bushes.

"So I've never seen you around Retharia before" Ignitus pointed out. "Are you new here?" Terrador looked from the treetops to Ignitus.

"Yep, my folks and I are staying up here for the year; Came all the way down from Tall Plains. I'm gonna be competing to become the guardian of Earth. So is my friend Shukka" Ignitus glanced over at his new friend.

"You're competing too?" he asked lightheartedly. The earth dragon bobbed his head.

"Mhmm, you betcha, why? Are you?"

"Yeah!" Ignitus smiled proudly, "I've only been waiting my whole life to try out!"

Terrador's eyes lit up. "Oh man that's awesome!" he bellowed. "How lucky are we to grow up just at the right time for a shot like this? Ancestors, It's so exciting it just makes me wanna -!"

Terrador looked up and with a mighty roar shot an earth bullet of excitement into the air. "Whoa!" Ignitus exclaimed as his gaze trailed upwards following the decently-sized boulder as it shot into the clouds above.

"H-how did you do that?" he stammered while pointing a talon at the shrinking rock in the sky.

"Huh, do what?" Terrador asked.

"The, rock, mouth, thing? How did you manage that?"

"Oh that?" he asked with a laugh in his voice. "What, you've never seen a dragon shoot a rock before?" Terrador asked jokingly. To his surprise Ignitus shook his head no, his mouth agape.

"N-No! No I haven't!"

"Well I'd li- watch your head." Terrador broke mid-sentence and pointed back up at the sky with his talon.

Ignitus glanced up; the rock was plummeting back down towards him at an alarming rate. He dodged out of the way and the rock smacked into the ground, forming a small dirt crater with a rock the size of a bush.

"Jeez!" he shouted, Ignitus didn't expect the rock to plunge back down so quickly.

"Anyway" Terrador continued like the falling rock was no big deal, "Well I'm not really sure how it works scientififically buuuut, best to just say that it's a gift for we earth dragons, we're part of the earth, so we can breathe it . . . like I said; it's complicated."

The young bright red drake found it completely baffling that a dragon could form a rock out of their surroundings and spit it wherever they may desire. Breathing fire made a lot more sense to him.

Eventually they walked and found a large break in the trees and before them stood a large city of bronze and golden structures that stretched so high and so wide they made the dragons look like ants. This was the great dragon city of the west. Retharia. Over a thousand different dragons lived here of all elements, Ice, earth, dark, fire, water, lightning, you name the element, Retharia had the dragon. Its size and dragon population rivaled that of Warfang.

On the outskirts of the city, an even larger structure loomed over the metropolis. Upon a nearby hillside, the Temple of the Guardians stood overlooking the city. And just a few weeks from now, that's where they would all be, for the Trials of Ages.

"Woah," Terrador plopped on his haunches, wide eyed and slack-jawed.

"Yeah" Ignitus said with a smile. "I'll never get tired of this view,"

Suddenly, a rustling noise came from the bushes nearby. Both of the dragon's heads snapped to the bush exposing their teeth and snarling. "Did you see that?" Ignitus asked. "Yeah,"

Terrador caught the glimpse of a green snout popping out of the bushes; "uh oh, look out Ignitus!" By reflex he pushed Ignitus away with one paw, sending him flying a good twenty feet … almost into another tree. A similar looking earth dragon leaped from the bushes and rammed into Terrador head to head.

"Gotcha Terrador!" the new dragon said in a gruff higher voice than Terrador's.

"nu'uh you're it now Shukka!"

"What? How!"

"I was already it, stone-head!" That's when the second earth dragon looked over at a dazed Ignitus stumbling back to his feet.

"Hey Terrador, who's your friend?" he said while walking over and nudging Ignitus with his snout.

"That's Ignitus; I just met him like a few minutes ago. Ignitus, this is Shukka. The buddy I was talking about."

"Of course" Ignitus said getting up and extending his paw, pretending as though he hadn't just been flown twenty feet. Shukka looked at the paw, puzzled, and then bowed his neck.

"Well any friend of Terrador's is a friend of mine, so it's good to meet you."

"Ignitus here is gonna be competing to become a fire guardian." Terrador announced.

"Really?" Shukka questioned while looking to the red dragon. "Well then the best of luck to you!"

"You as well," Ignitus doubled.

"Hey I don't mean to be rude to your friend here Terrador but can we get on with our game? It's been such a long flight and I wanna have some fun."

"Fine, I'll give you ten second head start," Without another word Shukka took off sprinting into the forest.

"Great to meet you dude!" he yelled as he pounded into the distance.

"Look" Terrador said, turning back to Ignitus. "I know we just met, but you're alright in my book, Ig. You sure you can make it home with those bruises?"

"I'll be fine, my home is like two wing beats from here."

"Alright, you wanna meet up here same time tomorrow?"

"Sure!"

"Cool, catch ya later dude!"

"You too! Bye Terrador!" with that Terrador flicked his head goodbye and took off running after Shukka.

Ignitus spread out his wings and was about to fly back home when he heard a great many roars up above. He looked up with wide eyes as family of five lightning dragons swooped overhead and down towards the city below. The family consisted of two fully grown adults and three younger children that looked to be his age.

"Oh this year is gonna be soooo awesome!" He thought out loud with while puffing out his chest. The Competition wouldn't start until a month from now, yet that was the fourth dragon family he'd seen come over the mountainside this week. Yes, this year was going to be awesome.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Temple

"I don't see him!" Shukka called out from the edge of the cliff that ran alongside the right side of the stairs. "You think he bailed?"

"I hope not!" Terrador called out from the air above the stairs. Today was the initiation day for the Guardian Trials and the candidates were flooding the stairs up to the Temple, there had to be hundreds of them all eager to join the ranks of the Guardians. Shukka was sifting through the crowd looking for Ignitus and so far there was no sign of him.

A few weeks had passed since the afternoon in the clearing where Ignitus and Terrador met. What followed was the beginning of a great friendship between the two. Ignitus liked Shukka, but Terrador, unlike Shukka, didn't throw his weight around every chance he got. Terrador was far more reserved in that regard. The 3 dragons spent the next 3 weeks getting to know each other, hunt together and play games. They hung out around Retharia and talked about where they were from and what life was like in Tall Plains. Ignitus even got to play a round of Ram with them … which did not end well.

"Maybe he chickened out!" He called back.

Terrador didn't think so. Ignitus was most definitely not a flake. He squinted at a dragon flying off in the distance,

"THERE HE IS!"

Ignitus spotted Terrador and lighted down in front of him with a smile and gave a quick bow. Terrador bolted up to him and bonked heads with him which made a loud _THONK_! "Hey Ig, how's it hangin?" Terrador had taken to calling Ignitus "Ig" for the last week or so.

"AGH!" Ignitus grappled at his head, trying to hide the painful expression behind a friendly smile and a bow. "It's good!" he paused, then "Hello Shukka"

"Sup Ig, hey how's that bruise I gave you yesterday?"

"Oh its, uhmm, better than last night. But I don't think I'll be rolling in the grass for a while." He glanced back at the flank that Shukka rammed into the other day. The bruises weren't visible behind the scales but below them, the entire right side of his chest had swelled up and turned a dark red.

"Rolling in the grass?" Shukka cocked his head in confusion with a smirk, "that's so girly."

"Hey!"

"Settle down, ladies. You're both pretty." Terrador butted in. "Are we gonna go inside or what?" Ignitus and Shukka both looked to the crowd entering the Temple's Western Hallway connecting to a gloriously large bronze structure sculpted into perfectly smooth spherical shape. Upon the main hub of the temple stood a flight tower. It was no secret that the temple doubled as a warring outpost.

"Welp this is it! Let's go!" Terrador jumped into the sea of dragons and Shukka followed, Ignitus hesitated for a moment, then wormed his way in. The archway gave way to a large hallway. Pairings of torches and open archways ran parallel to the hallway casting shadows on the flurry of dragons as they pushed their way through.

Everyone was so eager to get to the main gate they were pushing and shoving to get ahead of one another as if to say "Me first! No I'll be the first to be chosen!" Ignitus tried to stay in tail with Terrador and Shukka but it was getting hard to see with all of the different scales and colors. One impatient lightning drake bumped him forward and knocked Ignitus full force into the back of an Ice dragon of light blue scales.

The drake jolted forward and his head snapped back to where Ignitus was. "Hey! Watch where you're stepping, you dolt!" He growled.

"Sorry, sorry." Ignitus said while getting to his feet. When he looked back up he'd completely lost the two earth dragons and he swore under his breath. It was no use, he'd never find them in this crowd.

Soon the hallway opened up into a cavernous spherical dome room sunlight beaming through the open windows. In the center of the room stood a bronze statue of a heroic dragon so large it made the candidates look as tiny as little stones you'd skip across the water.

On opposite sides of the statue, two winding staircases climbed around the walls of the room leading to a large platform high above the statue's head. Four grand doorways lay at the North East South and Western edges of the room, each leading to its respecting atrium. As the dragons filed into the room, the chatter of the young eager drakes and dragonesses echoed with excitement.

Ignitus had managed to wiggle his way to the left of the room. Still no sign of Terrador or Shukka. But somehow in the midst of all the bumping shoving and pushing Ignitus had ended up right next to that same Ice dragon he bumped into in the hallway. Ignitus glanced over as if to say _sorry._ The ice drake glanced his way, frowned, then turned elsewhere.

Great. It wasn't even the first day of training and he'd already made an enemy.

"Wonderful" he murmured under his breath.

"Welcome! Welcome everyone!" A nice gentle voice called from atop the winding staircase. Everyone glanced up to see four fully grown dragons of Ice, Lightning, Earth, and Fire atop a balcony overlooking the entrance room. "Welcome, to The Iegis De-Lorich, The Temple of the Guardians! So glad you all could join us." Ignitus glanced up and his toes curled. It was him!

"Please, allow me to introduce myself, my name is Scald, and I am the Guardian of Fire. I-" before he could get another word out the crowd erupted in cheer. Scald was the unspoken leader of the guardians; he was the one always speaking on their behalf, always the first to tell the people of what was going on. He represented peace, courage, and wisdom.

Ignitus wished he could be half as brave as he was.

"Please, please" he said gesturing a paw to settle down. "Surely you aren't here for me hehe. Anyway, let me be the first to welcome you to our home. I know many of you have made a long journey to Retharia and I would just like to say I hope you enjoy our wonderful city." Ignitus liked Scald. He had a very calm and loving nature about him; he'd never known his Grandfather but Ignitus liked to imagine this is what he would have been like.

"I'd also like to thank you all for coming to participate in the Trials of Guardianship. I'm sure as you all know this event is held once every few decades to choose the next in the lineage of the Guardians of Dragonkind. Now before we go any further, I'd like to take a moment to introduce my colleagues." He paused then put a paw up to his left side.

"This is Barok, He is the Guardian of Lightning," An elderly deep yellow-scaled dragon stepped forward and bowed his neck.

"Greetings!" He called with a very formal bow, tucking his paw beneath his chest as he bowed his neck. Out of the four dragons this one looked the least battle-scarred. His scales looked soft and breathed easily across his belly and his wings were short and his body long. He looked as though he'd spent most of his years in a library reading countless books. He waited as the cheers of the dragons roared and receded, then stepped back to the left of Scald.

"This is Ira, our guardian of Ice" Scald gestured to the right with his wing and the large artic blue dragon on his right stepped forward.

"Hail, travelers!" she called with a bow. This dragoness walked with regality and graciousness, though her voice boomed with a certainty and finesse with that of a soldier. Ignitus remembered the stories his father had told about Ira of the North. How she'd fought and won countless battles with her armies, and how she'd won the respect of the rogue dragon clans in the western islands. And how she'd been impaled from her breastplate all the way to her lower right wing.

He squinted closer at the sea blue membrane accompanying her wings … there was the scar.

"And last but most certainly not least, we have the Guardian of Earth, Erosil!"

Erosil was the largest of the guardians, and he was also the most discreet. He bowed his head with a grunt of acknowledgment but no kind words of welcome. His horns were long and unnaturally crooked, but they were firmly attached to his scalp. His breastplate scales were scarred and jagged, no doubt from years and years of combat. Still the crowd cheered for the burly green dragon despite his lack of social graces.

Ignitus noticed something out of the corner of his eye; behind the fire elder's front right leg was a small hatchling that looked to be no more than five years old. The shadow the Elder cast prevented Ignitus from seeing the hatchling's scales, so he couldn't tell what element it was.

 _What's a hatchling doing here?_ He thought to himself. As far as he knew, dragons had to be at least in their teens to participate in the ceremony, so what was a child doing here with the guardians? Perhaps it was Scald's grandson or something. The little drake's eyes met Ignitus's and he instantly popped back behind the leg out of sight. Ignitus furrowed his brow squinting to see if he would pop back out.

"You lot are lucky," boomed Erosil. His voice was so low and resonant, his gaze snapped to the earth guardian and soon the hatchling became a distant thought. "No one else is allowed in the Temple besides the guardians. Take a good look around while you can. For once the ceremony has concluded, the Temple will become off limits once again."

"All the same, we welcome you to our home" Ira took a step forward, trying to make their guests more welcome than Erosil was. "During your time here you are welcome to our food, our literature, and our resting places. However," she went on "There are rules that must be followed. So long as you are here, the North East West and Southern Atriums are yours to roam as you please. Take note however, that the upper chambers of the guardians is off limits."

Ignitus glanced at the upper levels of the Temple, the four atriums seemed plenty enough for him to explore. Ira took a step back and allowed Erosil to continue for her.

"I will not repeat myself, so pay attention. During your time here we are responsible for your safety and well-being. We expect the same level of respect you would show your mothers and fathers. Unsupervised time outside of the temple is strictly forbidden. Harming another candidate outside of training or sparring matches is strictly forbidden. Failure to follow any of these rules will result in your immediate disqualification, no exceptions."

Barok stepped forward. "Essentially, don't be an idiot, and you'll be fine." He chuckled. The crowd chuckled along with him. "While you are here, your guardians shall act as your personal mentors, if you have any questions about guardianship, combat techniques, or concerns, talk with us. For the next few months, we are yours."

Scald stepped forward once more. Ignitus was hanging on his every word, completely entranced with the dream of being in Scald's place one day, being able to deliver a speech just like the one he was about to give.

"I know you are all very excited to begin, and I am eager myself. But I have some parting words of wisdom before we begin," Suddenly, the kind and generous nature of the Elder vanished, his posture changed. His brow furrowed. … The room fell silent, and Scald's voice was all that could be heard.

"Know this. The life of a Guardian can be rewarding. Fulfilling. Humbling. The bond of the Guardians is a strong one. You and your brothers and sisters will be as a family. However… the life of a guardian is not for the faint of heart. You will have to be the leaders of your people in times of both good and bad. And when darker times come, you will see sadness, poverty, suffering, disease, war, and death.

You must have the strength and determination to face impossible odds. It will be your duty to be the strongest, the bravest, the smartest, and the swiftest of your people. And during times of war, you and your brothers and sisters will be the first to lay down your lives.

Make no mistake, you _will_ be forced to deal with difficult situations … you _will_ be forced to make difficult decisions, and sometimes no matter what choice you make, dragons will die. That is why I implore you; if you cannot handle what I've just mentioned … if you cannot live with the fact that you cannot save everyone. If you cannot bear the thought of watching your brethren die and suffer … leave the temple now."

… The room was still … absolutely still. Ignitus knew full well there would be challenges; but watching others die … that was something he had not thought about. For that moment, he thought about what becoming a guardian would truly mean. Was he strong enough? Was he capable of doing everything that Scald had just mentioned?

Ignitus swallowed the tinge of fear in his throat. He'd been waiting for this day his whole life, this was a chance that came only once in a lifetime. There would be no other opportunity, no 'try it next year's or 'I'll come back when I'm ready's. This was it; it was now or never.

 _Clack_

The sound of claws hitting the tile broke the tense silence, and Ignitus's eyes snapped open to his left. A young lightning dragonette was already on her way down the hallway. Followed by another, and another. An earth drake soon followed, then a fire drake. Soon after, there were multiple dragons of all elements heading down the stairs of the temple back to Retharia.

Ignitus's eyes traveled back and forth as he saw multiple tails walk towards the exit. He felt a chill shiver up his spinel. Was the glory of becoming a guardian worth it? Was it worth being able to call himself a hero and help those in need? The dragons leaving the temple left a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He bit his lip, considering for a moment to just turn tail and walk out.

By walking out of this room, those dragons had guaranteed their futures. Their lives would go on. They would live to see their families and friends and lead normal peaceful lives.

No, he couldn't do this.

He turned back and was about to rise to his feet when, Terrador and Shukka and they hadn't moved either … he froze, one paw in the air, haunches still seated on the ground. He and Terrador exchanged glances. The cool, eccentric earth drake wore a raised eyebrow. His expression spoke one simple firm request.

 _Don't you quit on me, Ig._

Then Ignitus stopped and thought again. Yes, the thought of death scared him. It scared him a lot. But, what if he could stop other dragons from dying needlessly? What if he could save the lives of those in trouble? Even if he couldn't save everyone, at least he would be able to save more than if he hadn't tried. If he could help better the lives of others in any way … that would be worth it. Ignitus's glance spoke without words.

 _I won't._ Terrador saw his expression, and he nodded

Ignitus nodded back.

This was it. For better or for worse, Ignitus was in this. Even if he didn't become the fire guardian, at least he would be able to say that he tried.

By the time the last dragon had left the temple and the room fell silent, the room felt so empty. This was no longer a fun-filled gathering of dragons of all different ethnicities and cultures … this really did feel like the beginnings of a test; A long test that would define the lives of each of the dragons in this room.

There were only twenty to twenty three dragons left in the hall. Ignitus, Terrador and Shukka were among them. Ignitus glanced to his right. The snobby ice dragon hadn't moved either. This is what Ignitus had expected; twenty or so dragons, all competing for the four positions of Guardianship.

Scald gave a thoughtful glance to the entrance, then back to the remaining candidates. "You are all very brave … I commend you for that." His warm personality resurfaced. "That was the first Trial … and you all passed. Welcome to the Temple"


End file.
